Herdmates test negative for mad cow disease

WASHINGTON (AP) - Sixty-seven cows culled from the herd of an animal infected with mad cow disease have tested negative for the disease, the Agriculture Department said Sunday.

Testing was conducted on two groups removed from the herd at an undisclosed ranch in Texas; 29 cows were tested on Wednesday, 38 on Friday. Results released Sunday on the second group were negative, the same finding the department had announced Saturday for the initial test group.

The National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa, conducted the tests.

The infected animal, a 12-year-old Brahma cross beef cow, had spent its life at the ranch, the department said. After a livestock market sold the cow on Nov. 11, it arrived dead at a slaughterhouse a few days later.